Ideas for a new TES: Day 11 - Environmental
Physics & AI

Topics related to all things regarding how physics behave within the game world, its elements, how the player can interact with them, and AI behavior outside of interaction with other AI or the player.

- The AI should respond better to environmental hazards: Between them simply walking through a corridor of swinging guillotines that they activated, or seeing a barrage of boulders hurtling toward them and not reacting, I've always hated seeing this occur. They should react better to these types of hazards and respond accordingly if they can.

- An AI physics system similar to Euphoria: This would provide so many fun opportunities. Watching the enemy stumbling out of a bar or a tavern to only (realistically) stump his out and completely fall over. Or using some spell that launches the enemy makes the try and reach for something in midair to stop their motion.

- Moderate environmental destruction: If I set a fire to a plain of grass, it would be nice to see those flames propagate over a certain area (ala Far Cry). Or if I use the same spell on water it should produce a steam effect. Using a two hander on a table should break it in two. Dare I say even destroying whole small villages?

- Sound should propagate better: Maybe some of you already know this but most of Skyrims ambient sounds are muffled. Its mainly helpful to players who don't want to hear a particular sound and feel annoyed, but I feel like there should be some sounds that drown out anything else around. For instance, waterfalls. They're much louder than what they are in-game. Another thing they could add is an echo effect from loud sound sources.

- Volumetric clouds, smoke, and water: Water should be water. If I removed the containers off a tub of water in the vanilla game, it will still retain the same shape as if nothing happened to it. That water should spill out immediately. Clouds shouldn't be hand-painted, but instead they should look like they actually have a form to them or they're a physical height above you. Smoke needs to behave properly, and if I'm using a torch then it better produce smoke.

That's all I got. I guess next time I'll start a topic on Items, Management, and HUD's---Gamertag: My user name

#2TaigaWilliamPosted 5/12/2013 9:40:54 AM

There's always the classic AI suggestion: dude with an arrow sticking out of his head shouldn't mutter "must have been the wind." and wander back towards his starting spot.

Also, they need to do something about the awful grab/move system in this game. Do you have any idea how many things have their pickup points on the bottom? So, if you want a shelf full of mead in your home, you have to swing each bottle around so the physics will cause the ungrabbable top to trail and you can hope to land it on a surface bottom first. >_>---"I've always preferred hard liquor, ever since I was three." Gunter Vogler - Bullet in the Face

#3sunbro1Posted 5/12/2013 10:22:07 AM

Wind and flails---Ours is the fury

#4BiggyDX(Topic Creator)Posted 5/12/2013 10:23:50 AM

TaigaWilliam posted...

There's always the classic AI suggestion: dude with an arrow sticking out of his head shouldn't mutter "must have been the wind." and wander back towards his starting spot.

Also, they need to do something about the awful grab/move system in this game. Do you have any idea how many things have their pickup points on the bottom? So, if you want a shelf full of mead in your home, you have to swing each bottle around so the physics will cause the ungrabbable top to trail and you can hope to land it on a surface bottom first. >_>

Good points on both ends. Maybe allow for a decorative option when entering your home. Something akin to Fables decoration system (though obviously with more items).

I would also like to add:

- Incorporate some of the Gamejam ideas: Dark dungeons, hanging elements, multiple paths that lead to one area. I'm especially fond of the latter because I find too many of the exploreable area's to be far too linear in design, and with hardly little elements for you to interact with in order to thwart enemies you come by.---Gamertag: My user name

#5TwoBladesOneBowPosted 5/12/2013 10:52:50 AM

I want to be able to climb a tree.---"M'aiq has heard legends of a man with a powerful beard. This man never sleeps, he only waits."- IamI3rian

#6VincentVega13Posted 5/12/2013 11:06:27 AM

TaigaWilliam posted...

Also, they need to do something about the awful grab/move system in this game. Do you have any idea how many things have their pickup points on the bottom? So, if you want a shelf full of mead in your home, you have to swing each bottle around so the physics will cause the ungrabbable top to trail and you can hope to land it on a surface bottom first. >_>

This. I tried putting a Dibella statue on a dresser in Honeyside the other day. Damn near had a rage-induced heart attack.---To err is human, to Arr is pirate.

#7BiggyDX(Topic Creator)Posted 5/12/2013 11:19:30 AM

TwoBladesOneBow posted...

I want to be able to climb a tree.

This. Or maybe allow you to physically scale steep climbings. I think climbing trees would be a very smart idea if the game were to take place in Valenwood.---Gamertag: My user name

#8DRAGON07891230Posted 5/12/2013 12:54:36 PM

BiggyDX posted...

TwoBladesOneBow posted...

I want to be able to climb a tree.

This. Or maybe allow you to physically scale steep climbings. I think climbing trees would be a very smart idea if the game were to take place in Valenwood.

2 things: Horses for easy mode and billy goating for if you don't have one. You can billy goat up almost anything in this game.---Posted using GameFlux

#9BiggyDX(Topic Creator)Posted 5/12/2013 8:29:32 PM

- Better facial expressions and character motions: It would be nice if character conveyed their emotions a bit better in the next title. In addition to that, Bethesda should try to look make the characters movement more realistic as well. The jumping animations are pretty ridiculous.---Gamertag: My user name